David Hasselhoff teams up with Cumberland Farms for 'Thirsty for Love' iced coffee video ad

American actor, singer and producer David Hasselhoff poses for a portrait, in November 2012; he is now featured in a video promoting Cumberland Farms iced coffee.Associated Press File Photo

By JON CHESTO
Boston Business Journal

David Hasselhoff is still cranking out albums, even as he approaches what some might consider retirement age.

But his most well-known song around here could end up being his new ode to iced coffee. Or, as the folks at Cumberland Farms would say, “Iced Hoffee.”

Yes, the Knight Rider is back. And this time, he’s got a song and a music video, titled, appropriately enough, “Thirsty for Love.”

Images of the Hoff, you may remember, started showing up all over the region last year after the actor-singer-TV host signed a promotional gig with Cumby’s, to draw attention to its relatively new iced coffee line. Boston ad agency Full Contact had decided to see if the former “Baywatch” star could help. It turned out that he was more than amenable to participate in a daylong shoot out on the beach in California for a TV commercial.

The big visibility boost for Cumby’s last year didn’t come from that TV ad, though. Instead, it came from all the attention around the store signs for the campaign that depicted Hasselhoff, his million-dollar smile and a cup of iced Farmhouse Blend. Cumby’s had a rash of thefts at its stores, as fans pilfered sign after sign. Then pictures were circulated on social media, with the Hoff showing up in apartments, concert crowds, even wedding photos.

Marty Donohue, a partner and co-creative director at Full Contact, says that it became clear pretty quickly in discussions with Cumberland Farms that the 61-year-old star should return for another “Iced Hoffee” campaign this year.

Gwen Forman, vice president of marketing at the 600-store chain, says hundreds of signs were stolen last year. This year, she says, the company ordered extra signs to have a “substantial buffer, just in case.” Read more

She says the new signs should be up at the stores by the end of the week — assuming they’re not stolen already.

Donohue says this year, Hasselhoff was engaged for three days instead of just one this time around (one day to record the song, one day back on the beach, and one day for the green screen shots in the studio). The TV campaign, which started this week, will last a little bit longer this year, too.

A team at Full Contact wrote the lyrics to “Thirsty for Love,” while Asche & Spencer of Minneapolis provided the music. The video was produced by Boston-based Redtree, and post-production work was done by Peel & Eat in Boston, Donohue says.

The goal was to produce a new summer anthem, even if it happens to be laden with cheese.

“You can’t not smile when you look at this thing,” Donohue says. “The hope is that everybody in New England is singing that song by the end of the summer.”

Well, that might be an overly optimistic expectation. But Cumby’s can count on one thing this summer: Plenty of people in New England are going to be stealing signs again.